The community of World of Warcraft is reacting against the cinematic. There is much to criticize. But what makes everyone so angry?
At gamescom 2025, the next expansion Midnight for World of Warcraft was announced with a big cinematic. While many liked the new trailer and the action in it, there was almost immediately resistance and rejection in the community. Many feel that the cinematic is clearly a regression to the past in several ways. There seems to be a strong consensus: Blood Elves do not look like that in Warcraft. But there are even worse accusations, some relating to the use of AI.
We would like to briefly explain the most serious accusations with the most upvotes. The comments embedded in the article come from the two Reddit threads that discuss the cinematic. This is the official trailer thread on Reddit and the post Is it just me or do the characters in the new trailer look a lot more like plastic?
in the WoW subreddit.
Blood Elves do not look like that
One of the biggest criticisms is the design of the Blood Elves in the video, namely that of Liadrin and Lor’themar. Several points are being attacked here:
On one hand, it is criticized that the Blood Elves do not have glowing eyes. This is one of their most important features and ensures that they are distinguished from humans. The omission of this detail in all Blood Elves contributes to making them look like “Elves from The Elder Scrolls Online” rather than like Blood Elves from the Warcraft universe.
- “They look like humans and not like elves, especially Liadrin.” – GenkGiril12
Many find the design of the elves inappropriate as well. Elves in Warcraft, in direct comparison to humans, are usually endowed with flawless beauty (excluding scars and the like) and impress with soft, even facial features. However, Liadrin appears extremely angular and to many like “a human with pointed ears”.
- “A Botox CGI face was not what I had on my bingo card.” – Idkmybffyata
- “If that is a stylistic choice, then it is very un-Warcraft-like.” – Ruuubs
Here, the trailer from The Burning Crusade is often used as a comparison, where you see a Blood Elf sucking a Manawyrm. Although it had much less detail, it could be immediately recognized as a Warcraft Blood Elf.
- “This is what budget cuts look like: This is the first WoW cinematic where I wondered if I was actually watching a WoW cinematic.” – AlienFunBags
Worse character models than in previous trailers
The detail level of the characters is said to be lower than in previous cinematics, and they appear less “realistic” than, for example, Anduin in the trailer for The War Within or even Varian in the trailer for Legion.
Many have the impression that Liadrin and Lor’themar look more like wax figures, which may partly be due to the lighting of the scenery, but is further exacerbated by the questionable design of the elves.
- “I couldn’t stop staring at Lor’themar. The guy looks just like a model from a wax museum about to melt.” – theragco
- “This is the kind of stuff we see in AI-generated things. Who knows, maybe they started outsourcing this work to AI tools as well.” – Dark1624
What the hell happened?
The plot of the trailer was also criticized. While there was a strong build-up of tension, the “payoff” at the end is missing. It is not really clear what is actually happening and who is marching out of the Sunwell. As a result, the resolving “How cool and heroic!” is lacking, and many are left with question marks on their faces. Especially players who might have been brought back by the expansion could hardly relate to it.
- “What a strange cinematic. I would say … it feels incomplete? I mean, it felt like a big buildup, but then the payoff was simply missing. Whose hand was that on Liadrin’s shoulder? I expected something new, but I guess that was just another Blood Elf. No idea, it felt strange.” – DarkLemon2
- “The rendering does not look like WoW at all. The music doesn’t sound like that either. Or the dialogue. I don’t remember paladins ever repeating the same prayer over and over again. That’s definitely disappointing.” – Rocketeer_99
Many ultimately note that the soldiers presumably belong to the Arathi or the Army of Light – but this is not evident from the cinematic, which significantly ruins the “hero moment” at the end. The “Aha!” effect is missing.
Missing lip-syncing and the accusation: use of AI
Another point of criticism that is difficult to dismiss is the lip-syncing in the trailer, even in the English version. The movements of the mouths and faces do not always match perfectly with the spoken words. This is particularly noticeable when comparing the animations, for instance, with those of the cinematic from The War Within, where every little movement in Anduin’s face was recognizable and perfectly matched the spoken words.
- “The animations felt kind of stiff, especially the lip-syncing.” – The_Pheex
- “Oh yeah, I could definitely feel the ‘The model is not in sync with the spoken words’ during Liadrin’s prayer.” – Marco-Polaris
How much truth is there to the accusations? Currently, it is hard to say what the accusations are really based on, whether Blizzard had a different team working on the video or if the help of AI was used. What is clear, however, is that a great deal has caught the community’s attention that does not fit well together. This gives Midnight a significant dampening effect even before its release and leads to much skepticism in the community.
How did you perceive the cinematic? Did you like the action and the depiction of the Blood Elves? Or are you more on the side of the critics and find the cinematic to be a step backward compared to more recent trailers? We have gathered all information regarding the WoW expansion Midnight here.
